Evidence-based clinical practice Guidelines for Prostate Cancer (Summary - JUA 2006 Edition)

Impact of a robotic surgical system on treatment choice for men with clinically organ-confined prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Introducing a new surgical technology may affect behaviors and attitudes of patients and surgeons about clinical practice. Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) was approved in 2012 in Japan. We investigated whether the introduction of this system affected the treatment of organ-confined prostate cancer (PCa) and the use of radical prostatectomy (RP).

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective multicenter study on 718 patients with clinically determined organ-confined PCa treated at one of three Japanese academic institutions in 2011 (n = 338) or 2013 (n = 380). Two patient groups formed according to the treatment year were compared regarding the clinical characteristics of PCa, whether referred or screened at our hospital, comorbidities and surgical risk, and choice of primary treatment.

RESULTS

Distribution of PCa risk was not changed by the introduction of RALP. Use of RP increased by 70% (from 127 to 221 cases, p < 0.0001), whereas the number of those undergoing radiotherapy or androgen deprivation therapy decreased irrespective of the disease risk of PCa. Increased use of RP (from 34 to 100 cases) for intermediate- or high-risk PCa patients with mild perioperative risk (American Society of Anesthesiologists score 2) accounted for 70% of the total RP increase, whereas the number of low- or very low-risk PCa patients with high comorbidity scores (Charlson Index ≥ 4) increased from 8 to 25 cases, accounting for 18%. Use of expectant management (active surveillance, watchful waiting) in very low-risk PCa patients was 15% in 2011 and 12% in 2013 (p = 0.791).

CONCLUSIONS

Introduction of a robotic surgical system had little effect on the risk distribution of PCa. Use of RP increased, apparently due to increased indications in patients who are candidates for RP but have mild perioperative risk. Although small, there was an increase in the number of RPs performed on patients with severe comorbidities but with low-risk or very low-risk PCa.

Prostate-specific Antigen as a Risk Factor for Skeletal Metastasis in Native Ethnic African Men with Prostate Cancer: A Case-control Study

Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous cancer in males. Men of African origin are at a significantly higher risk as reflected in the higher incidence and mortality rates in this racial group. Metastases incidence increases parallel to serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality. Staging of the disease involves bone scans, which are sensitive in detecting skeletal metastases. Suggestions that these scans may be omitted in some situations in patients with low prostate specific antigen levels have drawn attention to the matter. In this case-control study, using radiology and pathology records, a registry of prostate cancer patients recorded as being of dark-skinned ethnicity was obtained. Images were presented to image reviewers blinded to the PSA level, to determine the presence of skeletal metastases. The risk factor for the outcome of interest (skeletal metastases) was PSA level above 20 ng/mL. The reliability of image reporting was also assessed. Of the 122 patients, skeletal metastases were present in 50 (41%) while these were absent in 72 (59%). The prevalence of metastases among the high PSA group was 55.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 44.1–67.7%] and among the normal/low PSA group was 22.2% (95% CI 11.1–33.3%). The odds ratio (OR) for skeletal metastases in the exposed (high PSA) group was 4.4 (95% CI, 2.01–9.78.) Intraobserver agreement on image interpretation was 88.5% with a Kappa statistic of 0.76. A relatively higher prevalence of skeletal metastasis is seen in regional dark-skinned African males with prostate cancer at both low and high prostate specific antigen levels. Bone scanning in this population should therefore, be considered even at PSA levels below 20 ng/mL.

Prostate cancer in East Asia: evolving trend over the last decade

Prostate cancer is now becoming an emerging health priority in East Asia. Most of our current knowledge on Prostate cancer has been generated from studies conducted in Western population; however, there is considerable heterogeneity of Prostate cancer between East and West. In this article, we reviewed epidemiologic trends, risk factors, disease characteristics and management of Prostate cancer in East Asian population over the last decade. Growing evidence from East Asia suggests an important role of genetic and environmental risk factors interactions in the carcinogenesis of Prostate cancer. Exposure to westernized diet and life style and improvement in health care in combination contribute substantially to the increasing epidemic in this region. Diagnostic and treatment guidelines in East Asia are largely based on Western knowledge. Although there is a remarkable improvement in the outcome over the last decade, ample evidence suggests an inneglectable difference in diagnostic accuracy, treatment efficacy and adverse events between different populations. The knowledge from western countries should be calibrated in the Asian setting to provide a better race-based treatment approach. In this review, we intend to reveal the evolving trend of Prostate cancer in the last decade, in order to gain evidence to improve Prostate cancer prevention and control in East Asia.

Degarelix: a review of its use in patients with prostate cancer

Degarelix (Firmagon(®); Gonax(®)) is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor antagonist that is approved for the treatment of advanced (hormone-dependent) prostate cancer in the US and EU and the treatment of prostate cancer in Japan. In a pivotal randomized, controlled, 12-month phase III study, degarelix (initial subcutaneous dose of 240 mg followed by monthly dosages of 80 mg) was noninferior to leuprolide (monthly intramuscular dosages of 7.5 mg) in patients with prostate cancer of any stage for which endocrine treatment was indicated (except neoadjuvant hormonal therapy) with regard to suppression of testosterone to castration levels (i.e. ≤0.5 ng/mL). Suppression of testosterone and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels was faster with degarelix than with leuprolide, and no testosterone surges or microsurges were seen in degarelix recipients. Suppression of testosterone and PSA levels was maintained for the 12-month study duration and continued for up to 5 years in an extension to the main trial (including in patients switching from leuprolide to degarelix in the extension). The drug was generally well tolerated, with most adverse events being mild to moderate in severity. Injection-site reactions and events reflecting the expected effects of testosterone suppression (e.g. hot flushes, weight increase) were the most common treatment-emergent adverse events. Thus, degarelix is a useful option for the treatment of prostate cancer in patients for whom endocrine treatment is indicated.

Seventh Joint Meeting of K-J-CaP and CaPSURE: extending the global initiative to improve prostate cancer management

This report summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place at the Seventh Joint Meeting of the Korea–Japan Study Group of Prostate Cancer (K-J-CaP) and the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) held in Seoul, Korea, in September 2013. The original J-CaP and CaPSURE Joint Initiative has now been established since 2007 and since the initial collaboration between research teams in the United States (US) and Japan, the project has expanded to include several other Asian countries. The objective of the initiative is to analyze and compare data for prostate cancer patients in the participating countries, looking at similarities and differences in patient management and outcomes. Until now the focus has been primarily on data generated within J-CaP and CaPSURE, both large-scale, longitudinal, observational databases of prostate cancer patients in Japan and the US, respectively. This year’s meeting was hosted for the first time in Korea which has recently established its own national database–K-CaP–to add to the wealth of data generated by J-CaP and CaPSURE. As a newly-developed database, K-CaP has also provided a valuable ‘template’ for other countries, such as China and Indonesia, planning to establish their own national databases and this will ultimately allow greater opportunities for international data comparisons. A range of topics was discussed at this Seventh Joint Meeting including comparison of outcomes following androgen deprivation therapy or radical prostatectomy in patients with localized prostate cancer, the use of active surveillance as a treatment option and the triggers for intervention when employing this regimen, patient quality of life during treatment, the impact of comorbidities on outcomes, and a comparison of recent outcomes data between J-CaP and CaPSURE. The participants recognized that prostate cancer was now a global disease and therefore major insights into understanding and improving the management of this condition would arise from global interactions such as this joint initiative.

Validation of the prognostic grouping of the seventh edition of the tumor-nodes-metastasis classification using a large-scale prospective cohort study database of prostate cancer treated with primary androgen deprivation therapy

OBJECTIVE

In the TNM seventh edition, a prognostic grouping for prostate cancer incorporating prostate-specific antigen and Gleason score was advocated. The present study was carried out to evaluate and validate prognostic grouping in prostate cancer patients.

METHODS

The 15 259 study patients treated with primary androgen deprivation therapy were enrolled in the Japan Study Group of Prostate Cancer. Overall survival was stratified by tumor-nodes-metastasis, Gleason score and prostate-specific antigen, and extensively analyzed. The accuracy of grouping systems was evaluated by the concordance index.

RESULTS

The 5-year overall survival in prognostic grouping-I, IIA, IIB, III and IV was 90.0%, 88.3%, 84.8%, 80.6% and 57.1%, respectively. When considering subgroup stratification, the 5-year overall survival of subgroups prognostic grouping-IIA, IIB, III and IV was 80.9∼90.5%, 75.4∼91.8%, 75.7∼89.0% and 46.9∼86.2%, respectively. When prognostic grouping-IIB was subclassified into IIB1 (except IIB2) and IIB2 (T1-2b, prostate-specific antigen >20, Gleason score ≥8, and T2c, Gleason score ≥8), the 5-year overall survival of IIB2 was significantly lower than that of IIB1 (79.4% and 87.3%, P < 0.0001). Also, when prognostic grouping-IV was subclassified into IV1 (except IV2) and IV2 (M1, prostate-specific antigen >100 or Gleason score ≥8), the 5-year overall survival of prognostic grouping-IV1 was superior to that of IV2 (72.9% and 49.5%, P < 0.0001). Prognostic groupings were reclassified into modified prognostic groupings, divided into modified prognostic grouping-A (prognostic grouping-I, IIA, and IIB1), modified prognostic grouping-B (prognostic grouping-IIB2 and III), modified prognostic grouping-C (prognostic grouping-IV1) and modified prognostic grouping-D (prognostic grouping-IV2). The concordance index of prognostic grouping and modified prognostic grouping for overall survival was 0.670 and 0.685, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Prognostic grouping could stratify the prognosis of prostate cancer patients. However, there is considerable variation among the prognostic grouping subgroups. Thus, the use of a modified prognostic grouping for patients treated with primary androgen deprivation therapy is advisable.

Tissue biomarkers for prostate cancer radiation therapy

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States. Most men have localized disease diagnosed following an elevated serum prostate specific antigen test for cancer screening purposes. Standard treatment options consist of surgery or definitive radiation therapy directed by clinical factors that are organized into risk stratification groups. Current clinical risk stratification systems are still insufficient to differentiate lethal from indolent disease. Similarly, a subset of men in poor risk groups need to be identified for more aggressive treatment and enrollment into clinical trials. Furthermore, these clinical tools are very limited in revealing information about the biologic pathways driving these different disease phenotypes and do not offer insights for novel treatments which are needed in men with poor-risk disease. We believe molecular biomarkers may serve to bridge these inadequacies of traditional clinical factors opening the door for personalized treatment approaches that would allow tailoring of treatment options to maximize therapeutic outcome. We review the current state of prognostic and predictive tissue-based molecular biomarkers which can be used to direct localized prostate cancer treatment decisions, specifically those implicated with definitive and salvage radiation therapy.

Reduced glycosylation of α-dystroglycans on carcinoma cells contributes to formation of highly infiltrative histological patterns in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

α-Dystroglycan (DG) carries glycan chains that bind to laminin and thus function in homeostasis of not only skeletal muscle but also of various epithelial cells. Loss of glycosylation has been suggested to play important roles in tumor development, particularly in detachment and migration of carcinoma cells. We previously reported that glycosylation of α-DG, but not levels of α-DG core protein itself, is reduced in prostate carcinoma. In this study, we investigate the association between reduction of laminin-binding glycans on α-DG and the degree of tumor cell differentiation and/or infiltrative properties, as assessed by the Gleason grading system.

METHODS

Immunohistochemical analysis of 146 biopsy specimens of prostate adenocarcinoma with various Gleason scores was carried out employing IIH6 and 6C1 antibodies, which recognize laminin-binding glycans on α-DG and α-DG core proteins, respectively. Double immunofluorescence staining was performed to evaluate colocalization of α-DG and laminin, and to determine which types of epithelial cells express laminin-binding glycans on α-DG.

RESULTS

Reduction of α-DG glycosylation, rather than loss of α-DG core protein, was correlated with higher Gleason patterns. Reduction was most conspicuous at the interface between carcinoma cells and the basement membrane. In addition, in non-neoplastic prostate glands, laminin-binding glycans were expressed predominantly on the basolateral surface of basal cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Reduced expression of laminin-binding glycans on α-DG may contribute to formation of highly infiltrative behavior of prostate carcinoma cells. Substantial reduction of laminin-binding glycans in carcinoma tissue could be partly ascribed to disappearance of pre-existing basal cells.

Is it suitable to eliminate bone scan for prostate cancer patients with PSA ≤ 20 ng/mL?

PURPOSE

We evaluated the relationship between bone metastasis (BM) and clinical or pathological variables, including the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 579 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer (Pca) who underwent a bone scan study at our institution between 2002 and 2010. We used receiver operating characteristics curves to evaluate accuracy of bone metastasis between serum PSA 10 and 20 ng/mL.

RESULTS

A positive bone scan result was found in 83 men (14.3%) with PCa. However, 27 men (4.6%) with serum PSA between 10 and 20 ng/mL, 29/579 men (5.0%) with GS ≤ 7, and 21/83 (25.3%) with serum PSA ≤ 20 ng/mL and Gleason score (GS) ≤ 7 had positive bone scans. In the logistic regression analyses, clinical T stage (odds ratio [OR] = 3.26; 95% CI, 2.29-4.33; P = 0.021), GS (OR = 3.41; 95% CI, 2.91-4.63; P = 0.019), and serum PSA (OR = 8.37; 95% CI, 3.91-19.21; P < 0.001) were predictive factors of detecting the BM. When the serum PSA concentration ≤20 ng/mL and GS ≤ 7, AUC value of bone scans for the detection of BM was 0.640 (P = 0.020; 95% CI, 0.563-0.717). With serum PSA at 10 ng/mL and GS ≤ 7, the AUC values of bone scans were 0.828 (P < 0.001; 95% CI, 0.773-0.883).

CONCLUSIONS

Bone scans might be necessary in men with serum PSA between 10 and 20 ng/mL. New guidelines for eliminating bone scans in patients with newly diagnosed Pca are needed, especially in Asians.